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Interactive Fiction
Introduction Interactive fiction began with the adventure game of “''Colossal Cave Adventures”,'' a simulated exploration of caves with no graphics. http://inform7.com/if/ [http://inform7.com/if/] (Inform) In the 1980s interactive fiction grew even further beginning to become a popular and highly commercial genre of computer game. In the 1990s with the growing popularization of game consoles interactive fiction disappeared from the commercial market space. Instead of hindering its success Interactive Fiction enthusiasts gathered together to develop tools to create their own works. This brought forth the creation of Inform “which has been used continuously through 1993” and created such works such as ''Zork'' series, ''Trinity'', ''The Hitchhiker’s Galaxy'', and a ''Mind Forever Voyaging'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction (Wiki) Even today a steady stream of new works is produced by an online interactive fiction community, using freely available developmental systems. The features of interactive fiction vary between individual works. In general, each screen of the interface will include a block of text, which can be anywhere from one sentence to several paragraphs long, and a prompt inviting the reader to input a command. However, this can be presented in many different formats; games like Photopia offer changing, brightly-colored text and backgrounds, while games like Zork present a uniform black-and-white color scheme. The manner in which the author chooses to present the text can affect the atmosphere of the story or influence the reader's emotions. IF can also vary greatly in terms of the pacing of the story - how quickly it progresses. A good work of IF is marked by pacing that is steady enough to emphasize significant aspects of the story while quick enough to keep the reader's attention. As acclaimed IF author Emily Short suggests, "The game should stay fun for as long as it takes to play; no aspect should take more of the player's attention than it deserves." http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129995/inside_interactive_fiction_an_.php [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129995/inside_interactive_fiction_an_.php] (Galletta) Interactive Fiction, abbreviated IF, is a software simulating environments in which players use commands to control characters and influence the environment.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction These environments are primarily text based although some feature graphics. Stories can take multiple paths, depending on the player’s choices but are not meant to be an intellectual challenge.http://www.microheaven.com/IFGuide/step2.html Interactive Fiction works can be categorized as traditional puzzle based IF (text adventures) or puzzle-less IF. IF is often considered a mix of literary narrative and video game. Alternating game play with novelistic components, interactive fictions expand the repertoire of the literary through a variety of techniques, including visual displays, graphics, animations, and clever modifications of traditional literary deviceshttp://eliterature.org/pad/elp.html#sec2 (Buchanan) Facade (Amanda Fairchild) The plot of Façade is an interactive drama that gives the player a chance to either repair or destroy the main characters Trip and Grace’s marriage. You are their out of town friend who is being invited for dinner and drinks. Even before you are invited inside they are arguing outside the door suggesting a problem in their marriage. Both of them constantly will try to get you to pick sides and at the end of the fight you will find out whether or not Trip and Grace remain together. Interaction is seamless as you converse in natural language and move and gesture freely within the first-person 3D world of Grace and Trip’s apartment. AI controls Grace and Trip’s personality and behavior, including emotive facial expressions, spoken voice and full-body animation.(reference interactivestory.net) Phrases relating to sex or divorce will make the couple feel uncomfortable and instantly angry with you for the suggestion. Flirting with the characters will make them angry and shocked that did that and get you kicked out the apartment before the dialogue finishes. Constant insulting of the characters will also result in an early dismissal of the apartment. Group Project 2 Group Project 3 Group Project 4 References